JTT: Suppressing the TAVOR: put the X in FLEX

Nobody likes getting a facial. Well, some people do, but not many. You suppressing a Tavor? Try this out. Mad Duo

Today’s article brought to you in its entirety by GEMTECH – badass silencers for discriminating quiet types.

Just the Tip Tuesday: Suppressing the TAVOR

Put the X in FLEX

Mike the Mook

One of our favorite rifles to shoot is the Israeli TAVOR. Since its inception, this rifle has been adopted by over twenty countries in addition to Israel, including Brazil (where it is produced under license by Taurus), Columbia, Cameroon, Ukraine, India, Thailand, Vietnam and Guatemala.

This bullpup has even been showing up in the United States among local SWAT teams such as the Pennsylvania Capitol Police, Nye County sheriff’s Office in Nevada, and the Lakewood, New Jersey, Police Department. Police agencies are choosing it due to its compact size for CQB and ease of storage in a vehicle. It has likewise been proven very popular with civilians as an alternative to the more traditional AR-15 platform.

We picked ours up in late 2013, and from what we had heard from friends who served in the IDF (Israeli defense forces) we thought that it might just replace our beloved AR-15/M4 series as a go-to rifle. While it performed well, it just never completely fit that role for us.

The ONE mounted on an IWI Tavor

The major downside to shooting the TAVOR is the bane of all who shoot suppressed rifles: hot gases to the face. Some rifle/suppressor combos are worse than others. On the Tavor, the culprit for this is not apparent immediately. The rear of the receiver was solid plastic, the obvious vents were located on the hand guard, but every ten rounds or so, the rifle got uncomfortable to shoot.

We learned this firsthand when Silencershop.com sent us a Gemtech One to review a few years back.

After performing more research on the rifle, we determined that the gas was blowing through the “closed” ejection port cover on the left hand side of the stock. In attempting to make this rifle ambidextrous, the designers must not have considered the use of a silencer, which increases rearward gas pressure.

Luckily a company known as Gear Head Works has a solution for this in the form of a single point sling swivel mount. Company owner Paul Reavis was a fan of the TAVOR from its introduction. He noticed a different type of shortcoming: the factory mounted Quick Detach Side Swivels are not very friendly to a single point sling.

Reavis devised a mount known as the Fulcrum Located Extra Swivel or the FLEX that replaces the factory ejection port cover on the stock. It securely clamps directly into the receiver with a very close fit inside the ejection port window.

The FLEX works on either side of the rifle and can be mounted with the swivel socket forward or to the rear. It is hard anodized billet aluminum for extreme durability and is the perfect balance point for a single point sling.

Additionally, this device closes off the gaps in the unused ejection port side that allows the gasses to hit the shooter’s face. He sent us a sample and after ten minutes of disassembling the rifle and installing the FLEX we were ready for a prolonged session of suppressed firing.

You got to read this article ‘cuz of GEMTECH – say, “Thank you GEMTECH!”

The FLEX does not make the rifle any quieter, but it was definitely more pleasant to shoot and is only one of a number of innovative devices produced by Gear Head Works for the TAVOR. It’s not a $.10 solution like gasket sealer or duct tape, but for $56.99, you get to solve two issues with this otherwise fine rifle, particularly if you like to run your rifles quietly.

If you’re looking to suppress your TAVOR and avoid a full facial you might give it a shot.

About the Author: Mike “the Mook” Searson is a veteran writer who began his career in firearms at the Camp Pendleton School for Destructive Boys at age 17. He has worked in the firearms industry his entire life, writing about guns and knives for numerous publications and consulting with the film industry on weapons while at the same time working as gunsmith and ballistician. Though seemingly a surly curmudgeon shy a few chromosomes at first meeting, Searson is actually far less of a dick and at least a little smarter than most of the Mad Duo’s minions. He is rightfully considered to be not just good company, but actually fit for polite company as well (though he has never forgotten his roots as a rifleman trained to kill people and break things, and if you look closely you’ll see his knuckles are still quite scabbed over from dragging the ground). You can learn more about him on his website or follow him on Twitter, @MikeSearson.

These are really Mike’s feet. He can type with those toes. We’re not even kidding.

Mike “the Mook” Searson is a veteran writer who began his career in firearms at the Camp Pendleton School for Destructive Boys at age 17. He has worked in the firearms industry his entire life, writing about guns and knives for numerous publications and consulting with the film industry on weapons while at the same time working as gunsmith and ballistician. Though seemingly a surly curmudgeon shy a few chromosomes at first meeting, Searson is actually far less of a dick and at least a little smarter than most of the Mad Duo’s minions. He is rightfully considered to be not just good company, but actually fit for polite company as well (though he has never forgotten his roots as a rifleman trained to kill people and break things, and if you look closely you’ll see his knuckles are still quite scabbed over from dragging the ground). You can learn more about him on his website or follow him on Twitter, @MikeSearson.